Can't put an equal sign into a cell

I need to simply put an equal sign ( = ) into a cell, NOT a formula. But Excel won't let me because it thinks the equal sign is the beginning of a formula. How can I put nothing but an equal sign into a cell? I need to do this because, along with the contents of a few other cells, I am concatenating them all into one cell which IS a formula. I have a specific reason why I need to do it this way. Thank you very much for your help.